100th Day of School Ideas That Will Make Your Classroom Go Wild
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So your class has survived 100 whole days of school. That’s 100 days of lost pencils, bathroom emergencies during math, and someone asking “is it lunch yet?” at 9:15 AM.
You deserve a party. Your kids deserve a party. Heck, the classroom hamster deserves a party.
The 100th day of school usually lands somewhere in late January or early February, and it’s basically the Super Bowl of elementary school. It started back in 1979 when a California teacher named Lynn Taylor wanted her students to actually understand what 100 looks like, and the tradition has been going strong for over 40 years now.
Here’s the thing, though. Planning this day can feel overwhelming when you’re already buried in lesson plans and parent emails. So I’ve rounded up the best, most doable ideas that’ll keep your kids engaged without requiring you to pull an all-nighter.
Let’s get into it.
Dress-Up and Costume Ideas
Dress Like You’re 100 Years Old
This one is a classic for a reason. Kids show up in bathrobes, fake glasses, gray wigs, and walking canes looking like tiny grandparents, and it is absolutely hilarious.
You can grab cheap wigs from Amazon for a few bucks. Baby powder in the hair works in a pinch too.
The best part? It doubles as a writing prompt. Have kids write about what life would be like at 100. Where would they live? What would they eat? Would they still be playing Roblox?
The answers are always gold.
Design a 100th Day T-Shirt
Give each kid a plain white shirt and some fabric markers. The mission: decorate it with 100 of something.
Some kids will draw 100 stars. Some will glue on 100 buttons. One kid will inevitably just write the number 100 really big and call it a day.
All of those are perfect.
Math Activities That Don’t Feel Like Math
The 100-Item Collection Challenge
Ask students to bring in 100 of something small from home. Paper clips, buttons, beads, cereal pieces, marbles, you name it.
Then have them sort their collections into groups of 10. Boom, you just taught skip counting without anyone noticing.
You can turn this into a graphing activity too. Sort by color, by size, by type. The math practically teaches itself.
Human Number Line
Place printable numbers in a row on the floor from 1 to 100. Kids draw cards and race to be the first to reach 100 on the line.
It gets loud. It gets competitive. They love every second of it.
Roll to 100
Give each kid a pair of dice and a hundreds chart. They roll, add, and color in their chart, racing to be the first to reach 100.
It’s probability practice disguised as a game. Teachers have been doing this trick for decades and it still works every time.
The $100 Challenge
Ask your students: “If you had $100, what would you buy?”
To a little kid, $100 might as well be a million dollars. You’ll get answers ranging from “a house” to “100 bags of hot Cheetos.” Both equally valid life choices, honestly.
Have them write and illustrate their answers. Display them on a bulletin board. Parents will be cracking up at pickup.
STEM Challenges That Actually Work
Here’s where things get really fun. STEM activities on the 100th day are a no-brainer because the number 100 gives you a built-in constraint for every challenge.
The 100-Cup Tower Challenge
Give students 100 plastic cups and challenge them to build the tallest tower they can. That’s it. No tape. No glue. Just cups and gravity.
This teaches structural engineering, balance, and the heartbreak of watching your tower collapse when someone walks by too fast.
Pro tip: mini cups (shot glass size) doubled up are way more stable than regular cups.
100 Marshmallow + Toothpick Structures
Hand out 100 marshmallows and 100 toothpicks per group. Challenge them to build the tallest or strongest structure possible.
Kids start thinking about triangles, bases, weight distribution, and load-bearing walls without even realizing they’re learning engineering concepts.
This one gets messy. Embrace it.
Build a Tower Exactly 100 Centimeters Tall
Give students popsicle sticks and clothespins. The challenge: build a tower that measures exactly 100 cm. Not 99. Not 101. Exactly 100.
This sneaks in measurement skills alongside engineering. Keep rulers handy because they’ll be measuring constantly.
The 100-Penny Experiment
Stack 100 pennies and have students measure the height. Then have them estimate how tall 1,000 pennies would be. Then 1,000,000.
The numbers get wild fast, and suddenly kids are thinking about scale and multiplication in a way that a worksheet could never achieve.
| STEM Challenge | Materials Needed | Skills Practiced |
|---|---|---|
| 100-Cup Tower | 100 plastic cups | Engineering, balance, gravity |
| Marshmallow Structures | 100 marshmallows, 100 toothpicks | Geometry, structural design |
| 100 cm Tower | Popsicle sticks, clothespins, ruler | Measurement, precision |
| 100-Penny Stack | 100 pennies, ruler | Estimation, multiplication |
| 100-Block Build | 100 LEGOs or blocks | Spatial reasoning, creativity |
| 100-Link Paper Chain | Construction paper, glue | Patterns, fine motor skills |
Reading and Writing Activities
Write a 100-Word Story
Challenge students to write a complete story using exactly 100 words. Not 99. Not 101.
This forces kids to think about word choice and editing in a way that feels like a puzzle instead of homework.
You can also do this as a whole-class activity. Each kid contributes one word at a time until the story hits 100 words. The results are always wonderfully chaotic.
“When I’m 100” Writing Prompt
Have students write and illustrate what their life will look like at age 100.
What will they look like? Where will they live? What job will they have? Will pizza still exist? These are the important questions.
Read 100th Day Books
Set up a cozy reading corner and stock it with themed books. Some teacher favorites:
Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten, 100th Day Worries, and The 100th Day of School from the Polk Street School are all solid picks.
For an extra challenge, have students set a goal to read 100 more pages or 100 more books before the end of the school year. Create a class reading log to track progress.
Snack and Food Ideas
The 100-Piece Trail Mix
This is the one kids will remember forever. Have each student (or parent volunteer) bring in a different snack ingredient.
Each kid counts out 10 pieces each of 10 different snacks to create their own 100-piece trail mix. Cheerios, goldfish crackers, pretzels, raisins, M&Ms, the works.
Math and snacking at the same time. This is peak teaching.
Build the Number 100 with Veggies
Provide baby carrots, cucumber slices, and other veggies. Challenge kids to arrange them into the shape of 100.
Is this as exciting as trail mix? No. Will it make you look good in the parent newsletter? Absolutely.
The 100th Day Gumball Machine Craft
Have kids paint exactly 100 dots on a gumball machine template using Q-tips. It’s a craft, it’s a counting exercise, and the finished products look adorable on a bulletin board.
Kindness and Community Activities
100 Acts of Kindness
Start the day by brainstorming a class list of 100 ways to be kind. Write them on an anchor chart or individual post-it notes.
Then challenge the class to complete all 100 acts before the end of the school year. Cross them off as they go.
By June, you’ll have a bulletin board covered in kindness notes and a classroom full of kids who actually learned something that matters.
100 Reasons We Love Our Grade
Each kid writes a reason they love being in your class. Post them all on a big display in the hallway or on the classroom door.
This one hits different for teachers. You might need a moment.
Invite a Centenarian
If you can connect with a local senior center, invite someone who’s actually lived 100 years to visit your classroom. Students can prepare interview questions ahead of time.
“What big events do you remember?” “How has the world changed?” “What advice would you give kids today?”
This creates a real-world connection that goes way beyond any worksheet or activity. It’s one of those moments kids actually remember years later.
Movement and Physical Activities
100 Exercises
Create a movement chart where kids do different exercises that add up to 100. 10 jumping jacks, 20 running steps in place, 30 toe touches, and so on.
Each student picks the movement for their number. The whole class does it together.
By the time you hit 100, everyone is tired, laughing, and completely energized for the rest of the day. Weird how that works.
Take 100 Steps
Line the class up and walk exactly 100 steps around the school. Before you start, have kids predict where they’ll end up.
Some will guess the cafeteria. Some will guess the moon. Both are great predictions.
100-Second Challenges
Set a timer for 100 seconds and challenge kids to do as much of something as possible. Write as many words as they can. Stack as many cups as they can. Do as many jumping jacks as they can.
Quick, competitive, and zero prep required.
Art and Craft Projects
The 1-0-0 Art Challenge
Cut out the numbers 1, 0, and 0 from construction paper. Hand them to students with a blank sheet and glue.
Their job: arrange the numbers to create a picture. Two zeros become goggles and the 1 becomes a snorkel. Or the zeros become wheels and the 1 becomes a car body.
The creativity that comes out of this simple activity is honestly mind-blowing.
100-Day Crown or Hat
Students write numbers 1 through 10, ten times each, on strips of paper. That’s 100 numbers total. Staple the strips into a crown.
They’ll wear these all day and feel like absolute royalty. And they just practiced number writing 100 times without complaining once.
Self-Portrait at 100
Have students draw two pictures: one of how they look now, and one of how they imagine themselves at age 100.
The “now” pictures are cute. The “at 100” pictures are hilarious. Wrinkles, canes, cats, rocking chairs, the whole thing.
Some teachers use the “Aging Booth” app to digitally age student photos for an extra laugh.
Ideas for Older Students (3rd-5th Grade)
Older kids can smell a baby activity from a mile away. Here’s how to keep it cool for the big kids.
100 Years of Inventions
Challenge students to research and list 100 inventions from the last 100 years. Work in groups to divide it up by decade.
This turns the 100th day into a history and science lesson. Plus, kids are genuinely shocked when they realize Wi-Fi wasn’t always a thing.
100 Scientists
As a class, brainstorm a list of 100 people who have made important contributions to science. Then have each student pick one to research in detail.
It’s a great way to highlight scientists who don’t always get the attention they deserve.
100-Word Flash Fiction Contest
Writing exactly 100 words is harder than it sounds. Challenge older students to write their best flash fiction story in exactly 100 words.
Have the class vote on favorites. Award ridiculous prizes. Make it an event.
Time Capsule
Have each student write a letter or draw a picture to put in a class time capsule. Include predictions about what the world will look like in 100 years.
Seal it up in a decorated box. Open it at the end of the school year for maximum nostalgia.
Quick Reference: 100th Day Activity Planner
| Time Block | Activity | Prep Level |
|---|---|---|
| Morning Arrival | Dress up as 100-year-olds, wear 100th day shirts | Low |
| Morning Meeting | 100 Reasons We Love Our Grade, read a 100th day book | Low |
| Math Block | 100-item collections, Roll to 100, $100 spending challenge | Medium |
| STEM Time | Cup tower challenge, marshmallow structures | Medium |
| Writing Block | 100-word story, “When I’m 100” prompt | Low |
| After Lunch | 100 exercises, 100-step walk, 100-second challenges | None |
| Art Time | 1-0-0 art, 100th day crown, self-portrait at 100 | Medium |
| End of Day | 100-piece trail mix, 100 Acts of Kindness list | Medium |
Make It Your Own
Look, you don’t have to do all of these. Pick three or four that fit your classroom vibe and call it a day.
The whole point of the 100th day is to stop, take a breath, and realize how far your class has come since that chaotic first day of school. Remember when half of them couldn’t find their cubbies? Now look at them.
100 days of learning. 100 days of growing. That’s worth celebrating, even if your celebration is just trail mix and a funny hat.
So go ahead. Make it weird. Make it loud. Make it something your kids will actually remember.
They’ve earned it. And honestly? So have you.
